to being ranked 42nd on the Pennsylvania's all-time winners list, Mechanicsburg is the fourth-youngest program to reach its total. In 1986 Mechanicsburg won its first PIAA District 3-AAAA championship. They were also runners-up in 1983 and 2004. Since the influx of the district playoff system in 1982, the Wildcats have qualified for the District 3 playoffs in 9 times (most recently in 2012) and have an overall record of 7-8 in playoff games. The Wildcats appeared in the PIAA AAA State Tournament in 2004 and 2008. Although the Wildcats have never won a PIAA state championship since its implementation in 1988, the program can claim championships in 1924, 1936, 1941 and 1954. In 1995, Mechanicsburg fielded a female kicker, a rarity in American football. On September 21, 2007, Lichtel died after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. Due to the timing of his hospitalization and passing, current head coach Chris Hakel, a 1986 graduate of the school, and assistant Jeff Costello were named co-head coaches for the remainder of the 2007 season, in which the Wildcats finished 3-7. In April 2008, Lichtel was posthumously inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Hakel (27-28, 2008- ) was hired as full-time head coach in January 2008. Hakel was named Mid-Penn Coach of the Year in 2008 and has made the playoffs three times in five seasons as of 2012 (2-3). As of 2012, Mechanicsburg has had at least one athlete named all-state since the 2008 season; in 2004, Zach Frazer was named Associated Press Pennsylvania Class AAA Player of the Year as one of three Wildcats named to the AP Class AAA All-State team. The Wildcats play at John H. Frederick Field at Memorial Park Stadium (located in the back of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park). In 2008, an artificial turf surface was installed at the facility, financed entirely through private fundraising efforts by the Wildcat Foundation. Baseball The baseball program is considered one of the most storied scholastic baseball clubs in the Central Pennsylvania region. The program has existed since at least 1914 and has won 20 West Shore, CAC or Mid-Penn Conference Championships, with the most recent being in 2009. Since the influx of the PIAA District III Tournament in 1979, Mechanicsburg has made the playoffs 22 times, was district runner-up in 1984 and 1999, and was PIAA District III Champion in 2011. The team has made 3 PIAA